Australian Bureau of Statistics

These video tutorials will familiarise you with a range of ABS products that are useful in the classroom. You can view transcripts of each segment by clicking on the triangle next to its heading.
On this page:

Transcript:
Start at the ABS home page. Note the quick links on the left hand navigation menu to access main economic indicators. If you need the latest CPI, Labour Force and National Accounts data, you can access them from here under National Statistics. A good starting point is Key National Indicators.
Key National Indicators present summary tables and graphs on the latest economic and social measures including GDP, CPI, Unemployment and Average Weekly Earnings. The link opens in the Summary tab. You will find tables of key economics and social indicators, and links to the full publication sources of this summary data. Note the summary data includes the latest figures for each indicator, as well as the percentage change from the previous quarter and the percentage change from the corresponding period last year.
Summary tables are a very useful resource for your class as they are easy to find and provide a quick snapshot of the latest key national data. You can switch to 'Graphs' for the same information in graphical form. Similarly, you can access links to source publications from this page. For example, click on the 'Labour Force' hyperlink and then open the publication Labour Force, Australia (cat # 6202.0). As with all ABS publications, it will open on the Summary page.
For more detail go to the Download tab and download the full publication in PDF format or open one of the Excel tables if you’re after a particular dataset. If you would like to view the Glossary, click on the Explanatory Notes tab. In most ABS publications, this is where you will find a brief introduction of the publication as well as a glossary of terms.

Includes: Finding Key National Indicators on the ABS website and a demonstration of how to access source publications.
Duration: 2:25 minutes
Size: 7.01MB Key National Indicators

Transcript:
National Accounts presents the latest data on the Australian economy including GDP, international trade, investment, net disposable income and a range of feature articles on selected topics.
Starting at the ABS homepage, click on the 'National Accounts' link under the National Statistics heading. You will be directed to the National Accounts themes page which contains a comprehensive list of National Accounts releases. Scrolling down, you will find a wealth of information papers and an index of National Accounts feature articles.
One of the main economic indicators measured by the ABS is GDP. Estimates of GDP are available on a quarterly and annual basis. Get the quarterly GDP figures in catalogue number 5206.0. Open the publication and you will see the quarterly figures are shown at the top of the page, including the yearly percentage change. Scrolling down, you can see graphs are also provided along with key points for the respective quarter. To access the full publication click on the Downloads tab. Download the full publication in PDF format or to get more detailed data, open one of the Microsoft Excel time series spreadsheets. You will find more than 50 years of time series data for the quarterly GDP estimates.
For annual estimates of GDP, go back to the ABS home page by clicking on the ABS logo in the top left hand corner of the page. Note that you can click this logo at any time to get back to the ABS home page. Select National Accounts from the quick links again. The Australian System of National Accounts, cat. no. 5204.0, provides a more detailed breakdown of various components of National Accounts, including annual GDP. Please note a wealth of economics data is also available via the ABS Theme pages from the top navigation menu. This is just another pathway for finding the data you want.

Includes: A demonstration of the National Accounts themes page and how to find quarterly and annual GDP data.
Duration: 2:46 minutes
Size: 8.41 MB National Accounts

Transcript:
Australian Social Trends is a great source of information articles written by ABS experts on issues of social relevance to Australian society. It will provide you and your students with a wide range of data and analysis of social topics. It aims to provide a snapshot of particular aspects of Australian society and how these have changed over time. The publication was issued annually from 1994 to 2008 but became a quarterly on-line publication in March 2009.
From the ABS homepage, click on the 'Australian Social Trends' link from the left hand navigation menu. Like all ABS publications, the Australian Social Trends link opens in the Summary tab. In the body of the Summary page you will find quick links to the latest articles as well as national and state summary tables. On the left hand menu you have access to a list of all Social Trends articles dating back to 1994. You can scroll down to view the list of articles or click on the topic hyperlinks at the top of the page. Alternatively click on the Past & Future Releases tab to access the full suite of AST publications.
There is also a link to the Australian Social Trends Seminar series. Throughout the year a series of seminars will be presented and the slides will be made available on this web page. To access articles in PDF version, click on the Downloads tab. You can download the entire publication or just choose individual articles that interest you.
The data cubes contain source tables featured in the PDF version of the publication. These can be useful and interesting datasets for students. To open the data cube, click on the Excel icon and ‘Open’ the document. The file should open in the Contents worksheet, which links to all the tables available in the data cube. Tables can also be accessed by opening any of the worksheets at the bottom of the page. Note the link to ‘Definitions’, as well as a list of publications from which the data was sourced. You can also get back to the Australian Social Trends homepage from within the spreadsheet by clicking on the link in the body of the Contents page.

Includes: A description of some of the main features of the Australian Social Trends publication and where to find it on the ABS website.
Duration: 3:09 minutes
Size: 9.00 MBAustralian Social Trends

Segment 12: Measure of Australia's Progress

Includes: How to find the Measures of Australia's progress publication and a brief demonstration of key features.
Duration: 3:02 minutes
Size: 8.75 MBMeasures of Australia's Progress

Segment 13: Yearbook Australia

Includes: How to find the Yearbook Australia series and a brief demonstration of key features.
Duration: 1:39 minutes
Size: 5 MB Yearbook Australia

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